Luxurious Dairy-Free Hot Cocoa

I used to be really big on goal setting at the start of the year, but I haven’t really felt the urge this year. Maybe I will write some goals once I can sink my teeth into the year a bit more. Right now, I’m still wrapping my mind around everything that happened in 2013. It was a year full of challenges, one I’m happy to learn from and put in my back pocket. There are a few big plans on the agenda for this year, so I think if I can make it through those I will consider it a success. The rest will fall into place, I’m sure!

I really like the idea of picking a mantra (or two) for the year. Have you done this before? Two of mine this year are:

To be knocked forward (instead of knocked down) by the challenges I face.

To make choices that are love-based, rather than fear-based.

How many times do you make choices that are based out of fear, rather than love? I do it much more than I would like. It’s something that can happen on autopilot after a while, like a knee-jerk reaction, and I don’t even realize that fear is behind the decision unless I take an honest look at it. It’s so easy to tell myself that I’m not good enough to do x, y, or z, to make a snap judgment about someone or something because it stirs up negative feelings, or to assume my writing or thoughts aren’t really important enough to share. All of these are fear-based. Luckily, Eric has a built-in fear detector and he often calls me out on it. Love is totally not blind; it’s honest in the best way possible…even if it hurts to hear the truth. We all need a human bullshit detector in our lives.

So, I’m thinking if I make choices out oflove rather than fear the doors start opening and new possibilities emerge. Suddenly, the new person I met is open to my friendship just as much as I am, that new business venture I wasn’t going to do is now an exciting (even though scary) possibility, and the times I’m asked to put myself out there and risk failure don’t seem quite as bad. Fear closes us down and shut-outs love, or any remote possibility of love. Fear convinces us that we can predict the future (and it often turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy) when really, we can’t.

Here’s the plan. The next time I find myself making a decision out of fear, I’m going to try to do the opposite and see what happens. Obviously, this doesn’t apply to all of life’s situations (after all, sometimes fear or getting a “bad feeling” about something is a good thing), but hopefully this will help to keep in mind. I’ve already put it into practice a few times this year and so far, so good.

Try it for yourself. You just might do the unthinkable in 2014!

Luxurious Dairy-Free Hot Cocoa

Vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, oil-free

By Angela Liddon

Sometimes we just need a little hot cocoa to pass the long, cold days of January. This is the perfect, all-natural drink to warm you up on a cold day. Made with soaked cashews, it's super creamy and thick all without a hint of dairy. It's very lightly sweetened with dark chocolate flavour. Add it to your Valentine's Day menu for a decadent drink option! This recipe is adapted from Anthropologie.

Yield6-7 (125 ml) glasses

Soak time1 hour or overnight

Prep time5 Minutes

Cook time5 Minutes

Total time10 Minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup raw cashews, soaked

1 large Medjool date, pitted and soaked

3 cups water

3 tablespoons pure maple syrup or agave (or to taste)

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, or to taste

1-ounce dark chocolate (I used Trader Joe's 72%)

Directions:

Soak cashews and pitted date in a bowl of water for at least 1 hour, preferable overnight. After soaking, drain and rinse well.

Place cashews and date into a blender along with the water, sweetener, cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt. Blend on the highest speed until super smooth.

Transfer to a medium pot and add the chocolate. Heat until the chocolate is melted and it's hot enough to your liking. It will thicken up a bit. Stir to combine. Be careful not to burn the bottom. Remove pot from heat.

Serve & enjoy with some shaved chocolate on top.

Store leftovers in the fridge and reheat on the stove top. You can also enjoy this chilled!

Tips:

Note: This hot cocoa thickens up substantially as it sits. Feel free to thin it out a bit with a splash of almond milk or water.

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PS- I sent out the first OSG cookbook newsletter last Friday! If you didn’t get it and you are a confirmed subscriber, please check your spam folder as some of you mentioned you found it in there. Another reader mentions if you have Gmail to look in the “promotions” or “social” folders for it.

For me I make lots of decisions for fear of negative consequences if I don’t do something – weird!
Love the hot chocolate, lately I’ve been making something similiar with canned pumpkin and dairy free milk – yum! Who knew cocoa could be healthy as well as a comforting treat :-)

Hi Angela, same problem here ! Maybe because of the french hotmail address ?? I already tried adding OSG to the allowed addresses and sign up again, but I didn’t get a confirmation (or welcome) mail… And although I already ordered the book, you’re making me really curious ! I wanna now what’s happening haha.

PS: I’ve been reading your blog for a long time now, and i just wanna thank you for your recipes and your articles. I’m a vegetarian and although it’s almost impossible to not eat cheese when you live in Paris and grew up in “le sud ouest”, I already banished milk and yogurt thanks to your recipes. They are a great inspiration for me, and I now eat vegan at least several times a week. Keep going, you’re great !

Oh man, I wonder why this is happening! Thanks for letting me know. :) I might have to switch newsletter plugins if I can’t resolve it…
Someone also mentioned to check your “social” and “promotions” folders if you use Gmail.
By the way, thanks for your kind words about the blog!

I love that second mantra and can relate to what you said about the fear-based knee jerk reactions. I also do this more than I would like and it really does take a conscious effort to re-evaluate those situations. I’m glad to hear you’ve been able to successfully use that mantra a few times this year.
P.S. This line is amazing: “We all need a human bullshit detector in our lives.” So, so true. xo

I have a lot of specific resolutions/projects (something I don’t usually do), but from those one mantra seemed to emerge naturally–“Minimize possessions, seek experiences, deepen relationships.” I like the mantra approach because, even if certain goals don’t get accomplished, it still helps me develop myself over the year by keeping me focused on what’s important.

Wow – this looks so delicious and not over the top sweet. I love the addition of dates for a hint of sweetness instead of adding sugar. Love the advice of choosing love over fear – something I definitively need to work on in the New Year! :) Thank you for another beautiful post!

I love your second mantra to make decisions based out of love and not fear. I never thought about it — AT ALL — until I read what you wrote and realized that almost EVERY decision I make is fear-based. Though it makes me SO sad to realize that, I am certainly not brave enough to stop doing it. Is that another fear-based decision? :) It’s a sickness. LOL

PS I never got the newsletter, either. I double checked my SPAM folder and nada.

I’m so glad you are making this a focus for yourself! Fear sucks! Literally! It sucks living out of life. The first thing I wrote down for myself when the end of December rolled around was “Fearless-’14” To do exactly what you are saying, feel the fear and ask, “What would happen if I wasn’t scared?” I usually end up realizing I would be following my dreams and pursuing my true passions. Crazy right? But so awesome! I think this is the absolute best thing you could be focusing on, and I (and really all of us who love you virtually and in “real-life”) will support you along the way as we have done for years, so have no fear!

Although I’m huge on goal setting, I really like your two mantras! Goals seem to work well for me but I like the broader mantra approach too. Thank you for the love/fear reminder- I needed that today. And I could use some of that hot cocoa too…. :)

I’m in the same boat as you this year. I would love to start setting more intentions or life changes, rather than just resolutions. The best one I’ve read so far is “Procrastination often comes from fear, rather than laziness”.

Hi Angela. I just discovered your website and I love it. I only wish you would list nutrition info. I am trying to lose some weight and many of the recipes seem a bit high in fat. I can’t eat dairy or gluten so this website is perfect… but I am worried about the fat content of cashew butter. Is there a lower fat option?

Hi Beth,
I suggest using caloriecount.com – it’s a free website where you can enter in recipes to get nutritional info. I don’t count calories myself and it’s too time consuming to do it for every recipe unfortunately.
As for the hot cocoa, you can certainly thin it out with more water or omit the added chocolate. I prefer a richer, smaller portion though.

Mmmmm! You just reminded me that I need to make another batch of homemade almond ‘milk’. Cashews make the creamiest beverages, don’t they? I have been enjoying nightly cups with coconut milk, but am definitely going to give this a go once I pick up a bag of cashews. :) I think some vegan marshmallows, coconut cream, or even a scoop of dairy free ice cream would add decadence on top!

I love the second mantra. I don’t even know how many decisions I make out of fear. Fear should not hold us back from really living. The hot cocoa sounds delicious! Since it’s snowing right now, I think it’s a perfect time to give this a try.

While it was the promise of hot chocolate (and dairy free at that) that lured me in, I was especially touched by your two mantras. I found them so inspiring. And scary – but I suppose that doing things which scare you, make you a stronger person.
(Well, within reason of course – there are things one can be legitimately scared of :P)

In any case, thank you for both this delicious-looking recipe and two very inspiring lines to live by!

Wow, this was exactly what I needed to hear at this moment. I was just considering turning down a chance to present a paper at a professional conference because of fear — fear of traveling alone across the country, of public speaking, of meeting a bunch of new people, even of being able to find vegan food to eat at the conference. This post has made me think I should give it a chance. I really appreciate what you write, Angela, today and all the time.

I notice you use a lot of cashews in your recipes (cashew cheese, etc). Unfortunately I’m allergic to cashews but not to other nuts. Could you substitute cashews for another nut or something else that would work the same way? Thanks!

What an inspiring post. I am preparing to move to Malaysia in February to be with my boyfriend, which involves finding a job and place to live in a foreign country! This is definitely going to be a year of challenges but I’m ready for it :)

Wow! I just read O magazine, the January issue and realized how much I actually live through fear without realizing it. This post hit at just the right time. There is no need to fear and I’m ready to live a life based on love, not the what ifs.

Also, I just started making hot cocoa with canned coconut cream/milk, dates, raw cacao powder and a snip of a vanilla bean pod. It’s a great way to use pods that you have already scraped the seeds from. Works perfectly in smoothies too.

This looks amazing! Can’t wait for the cookbook (my husband is excited for it too-ha)!

I too signed up for the mailing list (on Jan 7) and have checked spam and promotions folders and searched my inbox and I didn’t receive it. Could you send me the newsletter as well please? Or let me know if there is something we need to do on our end to re-subscribe.

I am inspired by your words of living through love rather than fear. I think we all do that more than we realize so i appreciate feeling inspired to stay love based. The hot chocolate looks delightful! That is the one thing my son just hasnt accepted and loved in any dairy free version so I will put this to the test and see what he thinks. It is the lack of “creamy” that he misses so this may be perfect! Exciting!

Hi Angela! Happy New Year. LOVE the post and your 2014 mantras! So much opens for us when we are motivated by love instead of fear. I will be following your lead! :) (Re: the subscription…I had to “break up” with Yahoo..lol…what’s that saying?…”once burned…”

I love your mantras for the year. I am so guilty of making fear-based decisions at the expense of my success personally and professionally. I could certainly do with a fear detector myself! Hopefully I can be honest with myself!

I don’t have a mantra for the year but I do have a goal: I will no longer use the word busy. Because everyone is busy these days, so it’s no longer a good enough excuse for why I couldn’t do this or couldn’t do that. I’m just banning it from my vocabulary and hopefully it forces me to do better and be a better person!

Love this post Angela! You definitely gave fear the middle finger just by being so open and willing to share your feelings with everyone. You have been one of my favorite blogs for a while, and I come here for the awesome recipes, but I have to say your writing just keeps getting better and better too. Thanks for the inspiration and know your ideas and thoughts ARE important enough to share, and strike a cord with many others.

I love how honest you are on your blog. Its the reason why I enjoy it so much.
That’s a great idea (having a mantra each year)!
I have a word each year, 2014’s word is “connect” I want to have a mind and body connection so I also find love in everything.
Last year my word was authentic and that helped me a lot! I did the things I wanted to do and said no first the first time for things I didn’t want to do. Its an amazing feeling to have enough self love to not feel guilty about your decisions.

Just what I needed! It’s gloomy and raining outside, and my thermostat tells me it’s 13.7ºC inside the house (!!!) So I just went back to bed to cuddle with my cat and work on my laptop from there. I might get up to make this hot cocoa when my stomach starts growling.

I’m subscribed and just checked my spam folder but the newsletter isn’t there. Could you try sending it out again, please?

I like your mantras – they seem more doable than a ‘set’ resolution that one either accomplishes or does not.
You’ve accomplished a lot by what I’ve read so far, so it was a surprise to read that you are fear-based. It IS important to move past the fears, and it must help to have a built-in fear detector!
:)

Thanks for another great recipe Angela! I just finished reading “Last Dance at Jitterbug Lounge” by Pamela Morsi. Here is a quote from it that I think you will like… “That’s the secret, (to life) you know, to recognize the best times when you’re living them and to have the confidence that the worst times will disappear just as quickly.”

I appreciate you sharing your journey with food, life and love. Please excuse the unsolicited opinion – I concur with the sentiments expressed above – this blog alone is a love-based (or at least not fear-based) endeavour!

Your post reminded me of a passage from The 8th Habit by Steven Covey: “…I know another person, who says audibly, or in her heart, ‘I love you. What’s your name?’ Seeing people through the lens of their potential and their best actions… generates positive energy and reaches out and embraces others.”

I am also writing to tell you how much I value your recipe ‘qualifiers’ (nut-free, gluten-free, etc) under each title. It’s GREAT to be able to immediately discern if the recipe is suitable for my dietary choices and restrictions.

I also appreciate that you’re Canadian, you recognize there are “banana haters” in our midst and you’re not afraid to drop a cuss word here and there. Variety is the spice of life!

Finally, I also appreciate that I haven’t read a single post where you use the word “yummy” – yeah, I’m serious. :)

I’ve been a vegetarian for years & am trying to move towards veganism. If anyone can get me there, it’s you. My family isn’t very supportive, but I try to slip vegan meals in sometimes. Thanks to you, I am able to do so, because your food looks “normal”. No nut loafs for my husband.
I live in Nova Scotia & it’s nice to see Canadian products since I can buy the same things.
I’ve been a subscriber for a long time & I didn’t get your cookbook by email either.
I’m excited for your print book to come out. I usually look up recipes online, but yours is a book I will actually buy.
Thanks for all you do!

Hi Angela,
First I need to say you are a HUGE inspiration to me. Not only just your zest for life and your amazing ability to cook and create in the kitchen, but your lifestyle choices and your story behind them. I am GF and DF and I have recently giving up red meat as I can’t process it anymore. I see myself becoming meat free in the future, but I need to take baby steps. I first “met” you when I bought my Vitamix 2 years ago and I had a mission for this new machine. I knew it was a vital key to my health, but I didn’t know how yet. I found your Green Monster smoothie recipe and tried it and LOVED it. I have tweaked it a bit since, but the essence is still there. I have tried many other health smoothies and juices, but this one is like my smoothie soul mate. (My Green Monster: Aloe vera juice, coconut milk (or other non-diary milk in the house), 1 frozen banana, 2 handfuls of spinach, chia seeds, coconut oil, peanut butter and ice). Even my kids like it and they 4.5 and 3! From your Green Monster site I found Oh She Glows and I have been addicted ever since. I have used a lot of your dessert recipes and brought them to work or family functions and everyone is usually shocked (in a good way) that it is vegan and gluten free. That equals a success in my book! With your story and so many others who have found health through the clean food and nutrients that we put in our body, I know I am not alone and I will find the “mecca” of balance and nutrition I am striving for.

The mantra idea is awesome, I really like that idea, instead of depriving ourselves or beating ourselves up trying to change ourselves, be positive and enrich ourselves.

Lastly, I pre-ordered your cookbook and I can;t wait to get it. I can add it to the mess of printer copy recipes on my counter from your website!

Thank you for doing this blog, I hope you never tire of it. Your recipes are amazing and the stories within each post are entertaining and inspiring.

Cheers!
Heather

P.s. I am thinking about doing a blog for myself to publish my journey. It may not become a huge hit like yours, but it will offer entertainment for my children when they are older ;)

Hi Angela,
Your mantras made me excited! I have recently decided that I too want to move away from fear-based living. Realized that so much of what I did or didn’t do was based on fear…and I want my decisions to be based in love…for myself and those around me.

Thank you! I have not a decent hot cocoa in years since I switched to a dairy-free, refined sugar free way of life. Made this tonight and I was skeptical as I’ve had some hot cocoa fails but I love this one!

I just made this. It turned out excellent. I was too lazy to wash another pan so instead of moving it to a saucepan I just whizzed it in the vitamix for 5 minutes on high and it was the perfect temp and quite frothy. I put the chocolate right into the vitamix at the beginning and it got chopped up and then melted when it heated.

Excellent post. Thank you for mentioning that you sent an email – I also found it in the spam, so sad.

I am thrilled about this hot cocoa recipe. I have taken on a challenge this season — to not buy food until I’ve used up my incredibly large supply of wonderful ingredients. Hopefully by spring the freezer + the other freezer + cupboards + pantry will all be empty & ready for a defrost and/or clean, and to be refilled with new items from the garden. At any rate — the hot cocoa recipe is timely, because I used up the last of my “fresh” milk, and yesterday I was desiring some hot cocoa. I have most things I need…chocolate, sweetener…but no milk to give it that creaminess! And I’m not loving powdered soy-milk as much as I thought I would. I haven’t any fresh milk, but I DO have a ton of raw cashews!!! Wahoo!!!

I just want to say I love your blog. I caught it years ago and I always love coming back :) Your post today resonated with me INCREDIBLY. Your encouragement to make decisions love-based rather than fear-based is exactly what I need to hear daily. Although you might not fully understand because we have different backgrounds, I am a middle eastern girl growing up first generation in the US. I met someone I love very deeply but he isn’t what everyone “pictured.” It was a hard end of the year in 2013 and because of my family’s reaction, we split ways. We are now back together and I love him deeply, and I hope I can re-open this subject because of the great love I have rather than being afraid to make anyone uncomfortable. My family is my world and so is he, I hope I can mesh the two successfully. I hate fear and I love love. I hope love wins here!

yum yum…i will try to make it this weekend…thanks to your blog and your awesome photography..i became an avid chocolate lover…before knowing your blog i use to hate choc flavor(i know i am weird for not liking choc :-))) now i want it more every day :-))….i add a scoop of cocoa powder to even my oatmeal most of the days :-)

I’m having trouble getting the newsletter too. I tried signing up again, but it said I was already signed up. It did resend a welcome email, but I checked all my folders and can’t find it. I wonder what’s going on.

Dear Angela! You are so amazing, an inspiration to so many…and I don’t know how you do it but every recipe is yummier than the other, this hot chocolate is delicious, so creamy, filling we love it!
I found your Newsletter in my spam folder in my gmail account! So happy to get it!
Thank you for your block, your recipes, your words!

You do realize that raw cashews are not real, right? There is no such thing as raw cashews. They are all pasteurized. Only difference is that they haven’t been roasted. They should be called unroasted cashews but, if they did that then the vendors would have to lower their prices.

Angela, I loved your post – I could have written it myself, it so closely resembles my own experience with the past year in particular. I have also decided to forego the usual resolutions and use the mantra “I am open in mind, body and spirit to all of life’s wonderful possibilities”. I don’t know what they are yet, but I know that they’re coming. I will also write down the 2 that you shared. I have only recently found your site and I have never posted to any website before but I have been inspired by your writing and the wonderful recipes that you share (the pink power smoothie is my absolute favourite so far). Thank you.

I LOVE this post Angela! There are truly only 2 energies in the world – love and fear – all emotion is really one of those 2 (ie – anger is ultimately fear). I too, need to be reminded to make choices out of love – not fear….especially lately :-(. You are a great inspiration in your honesty and your willingness to challenge your fears and doubts – thanks for sharing that with us.

I did not get the newsletter and would love to…not sure how I missed this but I ordered the book thru amazon – was I supposed to do something else? If there is any way I can subscribe now – let me know .

Hi Angela! Quick question for you. What’s my best bet for making a dairy free beverage that doesn’t rely on a nut milk? I have a mild allergy towards almonds/cashews and don’t really like using them in recipes. I’ve tried other milks like rice and hemp, but they seem too watery. Any suggestions? I’m also allergic to soy.

Sorry to be such a difficult reader haha! I just really like your recipes. You’ve taken being a vegan to an entirely new level that I don’t think anyone ever imagined! You’ve also inspired my own food blog. Please, when you have a chance (I know you’re super busy) check out weretalkingaboutfood.com. It would mean SO much to have your support!

Hmmm, how convenient. I have a cup of cashews soaking in my fridge right now…. lol

I’m hoping 2014 is the best year yet. I let 2013 just fly by and I don’t want that to happen with this year (with the exception of this winter shit. I can’t bare to leave the house when it’s -26C!!!! – and that’s reason enough to make this cocoa!)

I just discovered your blog this week. I love what you had to say about making decisions based on love rather than fear. It’s amazing how often I discover that my fears are based on assumptions and in some cases untruth. Love is so much better than fear. Thanks for sharing!

This year I am making a renewed commitment to reclaim my health and of course a huge part of that is changing what I eat. I’ve already made a couple of your recipes with success. They not only turned out, but exceeded my expectations! Thank you for putting together such a wonderful blog. I feel like I have found a friend to help me get back on track.

This recipie was not one of my favorites, however. When I made this it turned out grittier than I expected. I have a weird texture thing and I couldn’t get over the texture of this (to my disappointment). I wondered if the grittiness was there with yours (or anyone reading this that has made this)? Or maybe it was my cheap blender…?? Just curious..

Anyway, I think I will try to strain this with clean pantyhose so I won’t have to contend with the texture, then it will be awesome!!

While I’m all for taking the occassional drink of chocolate, I’ve yet to figure out why people have an aversion to using milk or milk based chocolate? Unless they are lactose intollerant. Any thoughts?
Nice site by the way. Very well put together.

I like my hot chocolate HOT… So I boiled the mixture, and it became very thick. Kinda like a atole or champurado (thick Mexican beverage). However, the left over I left in the pot and put in fridge overnight…. Next day AMAZING chocolate pudding. Thanks Angela

I didn’t make the hot chocolate although it sounds pretty delicious. I don’t usually read bloggers pre recipe writings, however today I did. And I just want to thank you for inspiring me to make decisions based on love rather than fear. Thank you for sharing your love for healthy food and yourself. I’m going to make some hot chocolate now :)